Jul

14

Mexico’s growing importance in the continental supply chain is now being recognized by North American transportation groups. Collectively, Mexican ports led the North American container trade in 2014 with 3.5% year-over-year growth, followed by U.S. ports, with 2.6% growth, and Canadian ports, up 1.6%. Mexican ports led the growth in import volume, with a 9.2% year-over-year increase, outperforming overall North American inbound growth of 6.4%. In the past two decades, commercial cargo in Mexico has grown twice as fast as the nation’s GDP. Mexico’s surge into automobile and parts manufacturing is clearly increasing in pace. In 2014, light vehicle manufacturing in Mexico reached a record high with three million vehicles produced and the country ranked ast the seventh largest producer of light vehicles in 2014. As Mexico’s rising middle class demands more imports and the country rises as a regional manufacturing powerhouse, the Mexican government is pumping US$5 billion into its network of ports to keep pace with growth.